Due To Lukashenko's "purses" The Budget Of Belarus Lost More Than One Million Euros
5- 27.05.2025, 9:40
- 6,832
They were supplying sub-sanctioned luxury clothing to the Russian Federation.
A Belarusian company bypassing sanctions supplies Western brand clothing to Russia, while the Belarusian budget loses more than one million euros. This is stated in a new investigation by BRC together with Siena, "Chronicles.Media" and with the support of "Cyberpartisans".
The journalists revealed the scheme of deliveries, which allows circumventing the EU and US sanctions.
How the scheme works
Belcargo company offers Russians delivery of branded clothing from Europe "without price restrictions". Journalists conducted such an experiment: they ordered 10 jackets of Brunello Cucinelli, Herno, Cortigiani, Fradi and other brands for the amount of 6,450 euros, but indicated an underestimated cost of 1,730 euros. The company was not embarrassed by this.
The delivery fee from Milan to Vilnius was $130, from Vilnius to Moscow - $255. Belcargo makes calculations by weight, not by the real value of goods.
This is what allows Belarus to circumvent the sanctions limits: €300 per unit under EU rules and $1,000 - under U.S. sanctions.
In the bill of lading, Balenciaga jackets, the real price of which exceeds €3,000, were issued at $4 per unit.
Belarus loses up to €700,000 for each thousand jackets.
By such understatements, Belarus loses up to €700,000 for each thousand jackets.
Belcargo's shipping bill of luggage, the real price of which exceeds €3,000, was issued at a price of €4 per unit.
The experimental order alone should have been taxed for more than 2,000 euros, but Belcargo asked for a much smaller amount, including logistics and its own profit.
Who is "smart"?
Investigators found out that Alexander Zaitsev, a close friend of Viktor Lukashenko, was behind the murky schemes for some time. The case involves Pascaltrade and Trade House Exporttorg LLC. Later, Evgeny Krokhotin became the owner of the implicated companies.
What are the losses?
In 2024, Exporttorg delivered 8,000 men's jackets to Russia. Almost all of them were issued at a price of up to 40 dollars.
At the real price, the losses of the Belarusian budget are estimated at 1.1 million euros.
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